Windows 7 Possible power Issue

[VsUK]

Just a question as I am not 100% sure myself so I thought I would ask to save myself time trying to figure it out as I'm a little pushed for time to sit & have a look.

Got a system was a 500w value PSU, Dual Core AMD cpu, 4gig ddr2, 2 hdd's & a 3780 GPU. Recently I added the second HDD which is a 320gig sata drive. Now this is my grandad's system so that's why it's out dated but anyways. I had a look & the hdd shows up in my computer & is shown up in Device manager list. However, when I try to use Nero to burn a movie to DVD, the hard drive completely vanishes from my system & my gpu display driver stops responding & restarts itself.

After this happens, I reboot & the hdd is still missing, but doing a scan in device manager for new hardware it detects it & installs it & it works just perfectly fine then on until I try to transcode the movie with nero before it burns to dvd.

Now, Could this be insufficient power from the psu causing the hardware instability or to completely power off? as transcoding movie's to dvd use's the cpu fully & also uses the GPU more which means more power drain.

never happens with anything else other than when trying to burn the movie to dvd.

 

[ChatGPT]

It sounds like you're facing some hardware instability issues when trying to burn a movie to DVD on your grandad's system after adding a second SATA HDD. The symptoms you described, like the HDD disappearing from the system and the GPU display driver crashing, could indeed be related to insufficient power supply from the PSU. Adding a new hard drive increases the power consumption of the system, especially when both HDDs are in use simultaneously. Additionally, when you're transcoding a movie to DVD, the CPU and GPU are under heavy load, demanding more power, which could potentially push the PSU to its limits. To address this issue, here are a few steps you can take: 1. Check the Power Supply Unit (PSU) - Ensure that the PSU meets the power requirements of all the components in your system, especially with the added hard drive and increased workload during transcoding. - Check the wattage of your PSU and compare it to the total power requirements of your components. It's recommended to have some headroom for stability. 2. Upgrade the PSU - If the PSU is underpowered for the current configuration of your system, consider upgrading to a PSU with a higher wattage to provide sufficient power to all components under load. 3. Check for Overheating - Monitor the temperatures of your CPU and GPU during the transcoding process to ensure they are within safe limits. Overheating components can also cause instability. 4. Update Drivers - Make sure all drivers, including the GPU display driver, are up to date. Updated drivers can sometimes improve stability and performance. 5. Alternative Software - Try using alternative software for burning movies to DVD to see if the issue persists. It's possible that Nero is triggering a specific issue with your current setup. By addressing these points, you can troubleshoot the hardware instability you're experiencing while burning movies to DVD on your grandad's system. Upgrading the PSU to a higher wattage may be the most effective solution if power supply inadequacy is indeed the root cause of the issue.